Changing the Stars
by ChestnutChaser28147
Summary: Time-travel: Harry returns to the Marauder Era in an attempt to create a better future. Will he succeed? Rated T as I haven't finished writing it. Be prepared for long episodes of writer's block.


JUNE 2007

In the summer of 1998, Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort, the greatest dark wizard in modern history… but at what cost? Tormented by the death and destruction from both wars, he withdrew from the public eye and began working on a project to repair the damage. The only person allowed into his private study was Hermione Granger, one of his best friends and still the smartest witch of her age.

Together they pored through ancient tomes searching for some solution to their problem. She would ensure that Harry ate and drank plenty, and would force the stubborn man to sleep when he was dangerously close to collapse; he in turn would allow her into his confidence, share his findings with her and trust her to keep her silence when she left.

Now, after months of preparation, the time had come to put their research to good use. A name changing ritual had been performed, and the newly christened "Leo Antares Black" was ready to go back to the 1970's, to stop the war with Voldemort before it got out of control.

He had picked the name specifically; it wasn't just that he wanted to honour his Black inheritance with the traditional selection from stars and constellations. He had discovered one day during his research that his Animagus form was, in fact, the rare white lion. Frankly he couldn't resist mastering the transformation, despite the nine month setback.

It had taken a great deal of planning to arrange his integration into a different time, including the back story he would have to give others when they asked (and they _would_ ask, that was always guaranteed). They found a gap in the Potter/Black family tree which would open up in the late 60's, when the only son of Dorea and Charlus Potter went missing, never to be found in this timeline. With a little research of the family tree (which had been thoroughly completed, purely out of the fascination it held for Harry) as well as liberal use of the confundus charm, Leo would slide into the son's position. He felt exceedingly guilty about this, and decided at the last minute that he would only be changing their memories of the boy to put Leo in his place, rather than moving back in with them. It was just too big a lie to live with.

Leo had packed a bag which contained a number of things he simply couldn't leave behind; his holly and phoenix feather wand and the Marauder's Map, as well as the Deathly Hallows (he had retrieved the wand respectfully from Dumbledore's tomb and summoned the stone from the forest), a time turner that Hermione had filched from the ministry (luckily they had restocked since the Department of Mysteries debacle), and a small fortune in galleons (after ensuring every single one predated 1971). He held the vial of sky blue liquid in his left hand and looked to Hermione, his pillar of strength for so many years. She gave him a watery smile and started to explain the process, pushing a slip of parchment into his empty hand.

"When you take the potion and read the first incantation, two things should happen simultaneously; you will begin travelling back in time, and your cells will regress, but at a slower rate than you are travelling due to the concentration. If my calculations are correct-"

"Are you serious?! We can't afford to mess this up, it isn't some potions assignment!" She glared at him.

" _If my calculations are correct_ ," she continued forcefully, "you will arrive in the summer before the Marauders' first year at Hogwarts, and your body will have reached the developmental stage of an eleven year old. Approximately. You can find out exactly how old you are with the second incantation, and work out a new birthday from there."

"That's all great, but what will happen to you? Will you remember any of this, or…" He trailed off, noticing how she was biting her lip.

"As soon as you go back, this world will cease to exist. Don't look at me like that! I'll be born again in a few years, you're not losing me. And if things go according to plan, there will be a whole generation of people who won't have to lose friends and family like we did." Hermione's voice grew in confidence. "Go save the world one last time, then live your own life and be happy… the world damn well owes you a chance to be normal after all this."

He chuckled; nobody could make an argument like that woman. "I guess I'll be seeing you then!" he joked, before throwing back the vial and clearly speaking the words at the top of the parchment.

As the world began to spin and fade around her, Hermione looked to her best friend - her brother in all but blood – and sadly whispered to herself, "But I'll never see you."


End file.
